Bringing adaptation home: Citizen engagements with climate change at home site scales in Ottawa and Halifax by Magdalene Goemans A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Geography Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario ©2018 Magdalene Goemans ABSTRACT Climate change impacts are becoming increasingly evident in cities, generating hazards such as heatwaves and flooding events that may cause discomfort or trauma for residents. Climate change scholars suggest that measures undertaken on private lands provide a significant counterpart to public adaptation initiatives, and increasingly position the home site as an important scale of analysis within climate change research (Bichard & Kazmiercak, 2009; Jeffers, 2014; Pyhala et al., 2016; Wilson et al., 2014). Select scholars have also considered how municipalities may effectively engage with citizens to encourage greater home-based responses to climate-related hazards (Groulx et al., 2014; Hjerpe et al., 2014; Klein, 2014). This thesis explores citizen perspectives of climate change impacts, risk and opportunities for adaptation that are based at the scale of the urban home site in two mid- sized Canadian cities, Ottawa and Halifax. Through a qualitative research approach of discourse analysis, this thesis explores several distinct but related sub-themes: (1) how residents understand local places of climate change impacts and risk; (2) how residents engage with home site natures within a context of emerging ecosystem-based adaptation practices; and (3) how residents conceptualize the residential property in situating responsibility for managing neighbourhood stormwater flows. Within these sub-themes, I argue: (1) that places of significant climate change impacts are frequently conceptualized by residents beyond the home site; (2) that residents hold multiple conceptualizations of local natures, as reducing climate change impacts (through stormwater absorption and home cooling benefits) but also potentially contributing to additional risk (through treefalls during storms) from climate-related hazards; and (3) that ideas of property autonomy and boundaries are enacted in fluid ways by residents, as they situate obligation for neighbourhood i stormwater management alternately toward individual self-governing efforts, wider municipal measures on public lands, or neighbouring free-rider private (re)development projects. Building on these key findings, municipal adaptation agencies are advised to assist residents in recognizing climate change impacts at localized scales, communicate recommended ecosystem-based adaptation measures to incorporate diverse values among residents toward home site natures, and address residents’ anxieties regarding neighbouring development activities that diminish permeable land area and stormwater management potential across neighbourhoods. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research was financially supported by a Doctoral Fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and by Carleton University. I would like to extend special thanks to the residents of Ottawa and Halifax, as well as to representatives of the City of Ottawa and Halifax Regional Municipality, who participated in this research and helped me to better understand how climate change is impacting these cities. I also thank my colleagues in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies who provided great support and friendship through this doctoral research process. I express sincere gratitude to my thesis co-supervisors, who have provided continued advice, guidance and encouragement over these last several years. Patricia Ballamingie continues to inspire me through her passion for environmental issues, her dedication to her students, and her genuine compassion toward others. Through his kind support, Chris Stoney helped me to better understand diverse policy perspectives and to fuel my ongoing interest in improving cities. I am also very grateful to my committee member Jill Wigle, who provided thoughtful critique that helped substantially in extending research insights through the development of this thesis. Lastly, I cannot fully express how much the support of my family has meant to me over these last five years. To my husband Chris, I am so grateful for your optimism, patience, and faith in our common goals toward making positive impacts in the environments around us. To my daughters Maria and Sarah, thank you for your unconditional love, and for helping me to notice the subtle moments of beauty in the world. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS: Abstract i Acknowledgements iii List of Tables vi List of Figures vii List of Appendices viii Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1.1 Toward an enriched climate change adaptation scholarship at the scale 1 of the urban home site 1.2 The study context 8 1.3 Research questions and key arguments 18 1.4 Thesis structure 26 Chapter 2: Research Methodology 29 2.1 Introduction 29 2.2 A qualitative methodology to access citizen perspectives of climate change 30 2.3 The research settings 33 2.4 The research data: Characteristics and data collection 40 2.5 Methods of data analysis, measures to enhance research rigour, and research 55 limitations 2.6 Conclusion 60 Chapter 3: Adapting in (or out of) place? Citizen perspectives of climate change 62 impacts and risk in Ottawa and Halifax 3.1 Introduction 62 3.2 Place, climate change and situating environmental risk 68 3.3 Citizen perspectives of climate change impacts and risk in Ottawa and Halifax 72 3.4 Discussion 82 3.5 Conclusion 93 iv Chapter 4: Is adaptation in our nature? Citizen engagements with urban natures and climate change in Ottawa and Halifax 96 4.1 Introduction 96 4.2 A typology and examination of ecosystem-based climate change adaptation strategies in Ottawa and Halifax 101 4.3 Citizen engagements with local natures in the scholarly literature 105 4.4 Citizen perspectives in Ottawa and Halifax: Discursive constructions of and engagements with urban natures in the context of climate change 109 4.5 Discussion 115 4.6 Conclusion 129 Chapter 5: Citizen perspectives, property, and stormwater management: Situating opportunity and responsibility for climate change adaptation action in Ottawa and Halifax 131 5.1 Introduction 131 5.2 Home sites, climate change, and responses to environmental risk 136 5.3 Stormwater management in Ottawa and Halifax 143 5.4 Citizen perspectives: Situating responsibility for managing stormwater in residential neighbourhoods 147 5.5 Discussion 153 5.6 Conclusion 166 Chapter 6: Synthesis and Conclusions 169 6.1 Moving forward in Ottawa and Halifax within the current climate change Context 169 6.2 A review of key insights and contributions to scholarship 172 6.3 Opportunities to advance municipal climate change adaptation policy in Ottawa and Halifax 178 6.4 Future research directions 182 References 187 Appendices 221 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1 Suggested adaptation practices within home sites to reduce physical impacts of climate change 14 Table 2.1 Population, density and income figures for Ottawa and Halifax 34 Table 2.2 Exposure of study neighbourhoods to climate-related hazards 40 Table 2.3 Age, gender and racial distribution of resident study participants (first-hand accounts) in Ottawa and Halifax 45 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 Maps of the City of Ottawa and Ottawa study neighbourhoods 36 Figure 2.2 Maps of Halifax Regional Municipality and Halifax study neighbourhoods 37 vii LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix 1 Sample questions: Survey for Ottawa and Halifax residents 221 Appendix 2 Sample focus group/interview slides for Ottawa and Halifax Residents 224 Appendix 3 Sample questions: Interviews with municipal government Representatives 238 Appendix 4 Sample questions: Interviews with environmental organization Representatives 239 viii Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Toward an enriched climate change adaptation scholarship at the scale of the urban home site Amid differing assessments of the degree to which climate change is altering urban environments and influencing the severity of extreme weather (Balling and Cerveny, 2003; Marsh et al., 2007), climate change impacts are becoming increasingly evident in urban areas. Climate change impacts manifest in or near cities in the form of ongoing sea level rise, changes to precipitation, unstable temperatures, or more abrupt wildfire or storm events (Bai et al., 2018; Bowler et al., 2010; Demuzere et al., 2014). These conditions may lead to inconvenience, discomfort, and even trauma for residents, as lives are disrupted. Home sites (i.e. areas comprising all physical elements within the boundaries of a residential property, e.g. house, other building structures, landscaping, etc.) may be exposed to a range of physical impacts, from minor basement flooding during rainstorms to damage from larger-scale wildfire events in forested neighbourhoods.1 In some cases, negative physical effects on home sites (and corresponding emotional impacts on residents) may persist long after exposure to climate-related hazards (Decent & Feltmate, 2018). This situation has spurred greater attention among municipalities regarding climate change adaptation strategies to supplement existing mitigation (i.e. carbon reduction) efforts. Examples of municipal-scale adaptation measures include strengthening urban stormwater management infrastructure to deal with increased precipitation, extending seawalls to deal with sea level rise, or enhancing 1 Intense rain